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Hello from Oakland, Ca. I'm reading All New 2nd Edition and have decided to actually follow, or nearly follow the directions even though it makes no sense to me that it could possibly actually work. No snow here so I'll be setting things up over the next few weeks. Since I started juicing I'm going through huge amounts of produce and if this square foot stuff does work I may see a net savings the first year.

@Baysidebob wrote:Hello from Oakland, Ca. I'm reading All New 2nd Edition and have decided to actually follow, or nearly follow the directions even though it makes no sense to me that it could possibly actually work. No snow here so I'll be setting things up over the next few weeks. Since I started juicing I'm going through huge amounts of produce and if this square foot stuff does work I may see a net savings the first year.

I was a skeptic as well, but due to old age and arthritis I needed an easier way. SFG, Mels Mix, tabletop gardens and Homer buckets did it for me. I love the fresh veggies I get.

@Baysidebob wrote:Since I started juicing I'm going through huge amounts of produce and if this square foot stuff does work I may see a net savings the first year.

Juicing brought me to SFG also. The only suggestion I have at this time is plant a lot more greens than you think you'll need. Your experience in your area will be different from mine but my first year I barely had enough. This year, my second year, I was harvesting one or two 5 gal bucket loads of greens every week. Chard, kale, beet greens, mustard, some lettuces & collards were the easiest. I don't juice any more but I use them in smoothies, salads, soups, dips, omlettes... just about anything.

Enjoy yourself and be patient. And post photos of your progress if you can. We love photos!

Bob, Welcome to the Forum! Believe us when we say that SFG works. Just follow the book.

I second what Boffer stated that the compost is very important. I'm a 2013 Newbie and I found out quickly that Kelloggs is not a complete compost!! Check out Sonoma Compost in Petaluma for part of your compost mix. They have a few different types of compost. You will still need other sources. Maybe try Whole Foods for composted veggies. Horse stables for horse manure or Lowe's for composted cow manure. I know there are other SFGs in your area. I hope they see this and jump in.

@sanderson wrote:Bob, Welcome to the Forum! Believe us when we say that SFG works. Just follow the book.

I second what Boffer stated that the compost is very important. I'm a 2013 Newbie and I found out quickly that Kelloggs is not a complete compost!! Check out Sonoma Compost in Petaluma for part of your compost mix. They have a few different types of compost. You will still need other sources. Maybe try Whole Foods for composted veggies. Horse stables for horse manure or Lowe's for composted cow manure. I know there are other SFGs in your area. I hope they see this and jump in.

Happy gardening and happy juicing.

Photos! We love them

I agree about Kelloggs. It comes from mushroom farmers, hence the mushrooms and it's not completely composted.I'll likely go to Oakland Landscape Supply. I'd post the link but I'm not allowed to do that for the first week.

One of the hardest things to believe about SFG is that there is NO dirt, soil, clay, clay, or what ever name for terra firma. There's NO amending the soil. It's all 5 (minimum) -source compost, vermiculite and fluffed peat moss, in 3 equal parts.

Then I checked Sonoma Compost. They have the following OMRI: Sonoma Compost of yard trimmings and vegetal which would be 2 sources; and Mallard Plus with yard trimming, vegetal, chicken feathers, rice hulls and duck manure which would be 4 sources. I would go with Mallard plus and go back and pick up the Organic Worm Castings for a 5th source. But use less than 1/5 the total volume for the worm castings. Folks have posted that while worm castings are wonderful, they should be used in a quantity of less than 1/5 in the compost. Maybe make WC 1/10 of the mix and get some composted herbivore manure like horse or cow for 1/10 to equal 1/5. I hope this makes sense. Others will probably add their suggestions.

Skimping on quality compost mixture will trip one up shortly out the gate. I found out from experience. Read and re-read everything about compost in the book and under the drop-down menu in the upper left hand corner on the Home page. There are also 2 "stickies" under the topics list, "Compost 101" and "Are you a Hottie?" It will make you a winner in your garden.